EXCLUSIVE: Here’s What the First Plan C Flagship in Milan Will Look Like

MILAN — Add Plan C to the cohort of brands planning a debut in Milan this fall.

Only in the case of Carolina Castiglioni’s brainchild, there will be no changes at the creative helm but rather in its retail footprint, since the designer is preparing to unveil Plan C’s first flagship in the city.

In previewing the project with WWD ahead of the opening in September, Castiglioni said the unit will be dubbed Plan C Frame and its format will be more akin to a concept store. Her goal is to showcase not only the ready-to-wear and accessories collections of the label she established in 2018 but a wider scope of brands and initiatives under her curation.  

“It’s a big, ambitious project,” Castiglioni said. “Given my passion for art and design, I didn’t want this to be just a Plan C space but to integrate the brand with other worlds and experiences. So that every time you visit it, there’s something different. It will be like a container, also design-wise,” said the designer, revealing she’s been mulling such a move and format for the past year.

Castiglioni zeroed in on a 4,090-square-foot space spanning two floors, conceived as a gallery with different corners to be activated with commercial and cultural collaborations. The flagship will stand in central Via Manzoni, in a unit that in the past housed Les Copains and that is located a few steps away from the famed Hotel et de Milan and the Armani Hotel.

“We had to start from here because this is our home and this is our first such a format, so to handle it directly at its best, it had to be in Milan,” Castiglioni said. “We explored different areas of the city, including the Brera district, but this street is growing a lot, also in terms of design-oriented openings, like Molteni’s [unit]. That’s our perfect target. Plus, we’re close to the Golden Triangle, with its Middle Eastern and Far Eastern customers.”

Interior-wise, expect a full expression of Castiglioni’s eclectic design and color sensibility — a trait that has always run in her family. Plan C aficionados can find cues in the company headquarters in the heart of Milan, a design apartment filled with vintage pieces and where her great-grandmother created the fur company Ciwifurs in the early ‘60s, which became a well-known licensee for several designer brands. Plan C has presented its collections to buyers and press there since the initial spring 2019 collection, and hosts events during Salone del Mobile.

The store will replicate the approach and colors of the headquarters in a bold way. Envisioned by Castiglioni and developed by the creative platform April with the architecture studio (Ab)Normal, the interior concept will see a central, tobacco-hued hallway showcasing Plan C collections on the right hand while, on the left side, it will line up a series of niches for various purposes, each marked by different tones and materials. 

For example, an eau de nil-colored area will display jewelry by Aliita, the brand founded in 2015 by Cynthia Vilchez Castiglioni, who, following the Castiglionis’ complete sale of Marni to Renzo Rosso, was joined in the venture by her husband, Giovanni Castiglioni.

This pop-up is expected to be sandwiched between a niche defined by mirrors and metallic displays and destined to spotlight special drops and guest brands, and another, buttery-shaded area that will include the fitting rooms and will be marked by geometric shapes, plush carpeting and sofas.

One of the standout elements of the space will be found at the end of the hallway. A flaming red cylindric structure will double as flashy design furniture and an outpost of Reading Room, the Milan-based retailer that sells a selection of international indie titles across fashion, art, design, music, travel, cooking and erotica, including the likes of The Face, Tank, Cabana, Flash Art, Apartamento, The Travel Almanac and Cap 74024 magazine, to name a few.

The impactful structure displaying the magazines opens to a room where shoppers can peruse the titles. It also conceals a spiral staircase that leads to the basement, which will be used for both commercial purposes and cultural activities, like hosting talks and events. 

“We wanted this store to be a mix of different things, a space that could be dynamic and alive, that can entertain and not only sell you stuff. In a moment like this, when many stores are shutting down, the idea is to create an experience and offer a destination you want to return to because there’s something new to see every time,” Castiglioni said, underscoring how “nowadays there’s less focus on clothing” in favor of a general interest for a wider scope of categories.

These include lifestyle — a new avenue for the company. After having introduced menswear last year and increasingly expanding its accessories range season after season, Plan C is taking its first steps into homeware via a licensing deal it recently signed with Belgian design specialist Serax.

Teased on a T-shirt featured in the brand’s spring 2026 collection unveiled last month, the first effort of this collaboration will include small vases, candle holders and scented candles in unique forms and vivid colors. Dubbed “Silos,” the line — which will be exclusively available at the store ahead of its wider rollout starting in October — takes cues from industrial storage structures. 

“Two years ago I traveled to Iceland, where I took photos of an installation featuring three water tanks. I was fascinated not only by the shape, but also by the incredible color combinations and patterns the silos displayed,” said Castiglioni, who combined those memories with her constant research into vintage design objects.

As a result, the vases and candlesticks are shaped as irregular parallelepipeds in brown, blue and orange porcelain, while the three scented candles come in cylindrical vessels with chunky handles in geometric shapes and colorblocking to evoke the playful designs of the ‘80s Memphis design movement. Prices will range from 40 euros for candle holders to 60 euros for the mini vases, while the scented candles will come in three formats retailing at 69 euros, 115 euros and 165 euros.

The seminal homeware line won’t be the only novelty at Plan C Frame. Castiglioni teased exclusive products are in the pipeline for the opening of the store, following in the footsteps of special drops the brand launches on its e-commerce, such as three recent iterations of a Plan C bag crafted from archival fabrications.

The store will act as a pilot since Castiglioni said the ultimate goal is to export the format, especially in the markets that are performing best for the brand, like Japan. 

Plan C opened its first store in Tokyo’s Aoyama neighborhood in 2019. While that unit is no longer operating, the brand opened an outpost in the city’s luxury retail complex Ginza Six in 2023, which joined shops-in-shop at Isetan Shinjuku and Umeda Hankyu Osaka, as well as distribution at multibrand retailers in that country.

These were developed with local distributor Bluebell Group, but the two parties have mutually agreed to end their collaboration at the finish of the fall 2025 season. Plan C has just signed a new deal with Sanki Shoji Co. Ltd., which will come into effect starting with the spring 2026 collection and aims to accelerate the brand’s retail expansion and overall growth in the market.

The company’s second best-performing country is the U.S., where it is distributed at the likes of Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue as well as at multibrand retailers like La Garçonne in New York, Forty Five Ten in Dallas and Capitol in Charlotte, N.C.

The daughter of Marni’s founders, Castiglioni launched Plan C with the support of her father Gianni and her brother Giovanni in 2018, after a decade of developing special projects for her family’s business. Rosso’s OTB took full control of Marni in 2015 and the Castiglioni family exited the following year, including creative director and Carolina’s mother, Consuelo.

With Plan C, Castiglioni continues the vision her parents passed on to her. She has hinged Plan C on utility- and sport-inflected everyday styles with a touch of eccentricity and unpredictability, a mix of discreet and bold elements, the juxtaposition of masculine and feminine shapes and color combinations.

And the family tradition seems not to stop. Castiglioni’s daughter has been a recurrent source of inspiration, contributing to the Pili and Bianca hand-sketched characters that appear on Plan C’s signature canvas totes, for example.